What is a sustainable lifestyle and why must one choose a sustainable lifestyle?
The current state of our Earth is very saddening and the reason behind all this is we, humans. We are in constant need of comfort. We don’t realize that in this search for comfort we are constantly exploiting mother earth and the environment in which we have to live. The only way to come out of this situation is to make a conscious decision to choose a sustainable lifestyle.
The definition of sustainability in the oxford dictionary is referred to as ‘the ability to be maintained at a certain rate or level’
A sustainable lifestyle means acting in a conscious way while choosing every product and the actions you do in everyday life. It means choosing or opting for products that are good for the environment. It may not necessarily add anything good to the ecosystem but necessarily doesn’t do any harm to the environment.
The main goal of a sustainable lifestyle is to lower the ecological footprint. Some people over the internet will make you feel that a sustainable lifestyle is very tough to lead and it does not suit everybody's lifestyle. But if you ask us, anybody can inculcate it easily.
You don’t have to study book after book before you start choosing a sustainable lifestyle. All you have to do is, change a small habit of yours that will not disturb your current set routine. Once that small replacement becomes a natural habit, go and opt for another habit. This way you wouldn’t even realize when and how your entire lifestyle has become conscious and sustainable over the years. Always remember nothing happens over time. It takes time to build habits and change lifestyles. It all starts with a single step.
There are a lot of people who think that one habit change in an individual will not bring any impact on the environment. But in reality, it does. Here’s a small fact that will blow your mind. A single sanitary napkin takes 500 to 800 years to decompose. And an average user throws away 150 kg of pads/panty liners/tampons in their lifetime. So, yes! A single habit change by an individual can bring an impact, well a huge impact to an environment.
A sustainable lifestyle doesn’t mean leading a poor life or giving up on all the luxuries. In fact, it means to lead a lifestyle that is rich and healthy for you, the environment, and also the generations to come. Now it’s time for you to decide which rich lifestyle you want to choose. A rich in the eyes of people which is actually giving you a lot of health issues or the one which is actually rich, healthy, and comforting?
If you are still confused about why to choose a sustainable and conscious lifestyle, below are a few reasons which are surely going to help you in arriving at a decision.
Here are the reasons why one should pick a sustainable lifestyle
- To conserve natural resources
Let’s understand that natural resources are enough for everybody if used wisely. When you forget about the limit and go beyond that for satisfying your unlikely desires, you are actually stealing natural resources from your future generations.
Conserving natural resources is a way to go green. Conserving them will make them available to us and our future generation for our needs.
2. To save money
Yes! Not everybody knows this but a sustainable lifestyle will help you in saving a lot of money which you can use for any other useful purposes in life. Are you wondering how one could save from this? Choosing to use only the required water and electricity at home will cut short your bills. And when you eat what you need, you will be saving up a lot of your money which you were paying for the food to go in the garbage.
3. To improve health
A sustainable lifestyle will result in a cleaner, greener, and better environment. A greener environment means clean air, less waste, etc., which will make not only your surroundings cleaner but also make you feel cleaner and healthier from within. When you choose your food consciously, you are lowering the chances of heart, skin, and other issues.
4. Slower downs the climate change
Needless to say about the climatic changes we are witnessing today. Sometimes it feels like summer isn’t a season, it is throughout the year. All these changes are a sign for us to make conscious decisions. We can make a drastic change in environmental pollution just by avoiding plastic bags and bottles.
5. To create a better environment for our kids
The huge amount of plastic usage, fossil fuels, etc., would have been fine if we were going to be the last generation to live in this world. Let’s understand that we are not a single generation but many more generations to come and live on the same earth we are living on. When our ancestors have provided us with a good environment then it is our duty to do the same for our upcoming lineage.
The current situation is worse and we cannot make it worse for the next generation. Let us be conscious consumers of natural resources so that we can leave behind something good for our kids.
We are sure that after knowing these things you would want to lead a sustainable lifestyle. We are giving you a few simple ways to start your journey and not feel overwhelmed.
- Carry your own cloth or jute bag instead of getting plastic bags from the grocery store which they provide.
- Switch off the electricity once you are done using it. Be it a fan, light, geyser, etc.,
- Turn off the tap while brushing your teeth.
- Replace your regular plastic toothbrush with a bamboo toothbrush.
- Stop using single-use plastic.
Now is your turn to decide how would you want your legacy to look.
